KS1 SATs paper accidentally published on DfE website – 22 April 2016

This week I highlight the dramatic news that first and primary schools won’t need to administer this year’s KS1 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test as it was published in error on the DfE’s website back in January, the publication of the Regional Schools Commissioner’s plan to raise school standards in the North East and entries invited for this year’s DfE Character Awards.

KEY STAGE 1 GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING TEST NOT BEING TAKEN THIS YEAR
The Department for Education has confirmed that this year’s Key Stage 1 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test was accidentally uploaded onto the Standards and Testing Agency website in January along with other practice papers. The error was only discovered when teachers at the schools taking part in piloting the new tests this week recognised the questions.

The Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, has commissioned an investigation into how the breach has occurred and stated that “to remove any uncertainty and clarify the situation for schools, I have decided that we will remove the requirement on them to administer the KS1 grammar, punctuation and spelling test for this year only.”

Schools will still need to submit a teacher assessment judgement based on pupils’ work in the classroom, however there will be no requirement to administer the test or use the result as part of that assessment.

NORTH OF ENGLAND REGIONAL SCHOOL COMMISSIONER’S CONTRIBUTION TO RAISING SCHOOLS STANDARDS 2015-16
The DfE has released information about each Regional School Commissioner’s contribution to raising school standards for 2015-16. Our Regional School Commissioner’s plan aims to ensure our diverse geography and communities work together to promote a self-improving school led system that can deliver higher standards across the region. There’s also the promise to improve communications and transparency via newsletters, an annual report and social media.

ENTRIES NOW INVITED FOR THIS YEAR’S DfE CHARACTER AWARDS
The Awards seek to identify, recognise and celebrate those leading the field in character education and support young people to develop the traits that:

support academic attainment

are valued by employers

enable them to make a positive contribution to British society

The closing date for entries is 23 May 2016 via the Pearson Teaching Awards website.